The Directors of Remember The XIth CIC:

Lt Col (ret) Gerrit Pijpers OBE
Gerrit is a former senior officer of the Royal Netherlands Air Force and has a wealth of knowledge of military strategy, tactics and history.
As a child he was brought up in the Oosterbeek area and has always been fascinated by the brave men of the 11th Parachute Battalion who, many years before he was born, brought hope to his parents and grandparents by jumping from aircraft hanging by parachutes, while German infantry fired at them.
For many years Gerrit has not only supported the families and friends of members of the 11th Parachute Battalion but also been an organiser of the annual Airborne Memorial Service at the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery and the Royal Netherlands Air Force liaison officer to the 10th (V) and 4th (R) Parachute Battalions for almost 15 years; so much so in 2003 he was appointed as Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
Since then Gerrit has also become an accomplished author, having written the definitive book about The 11th Parachute Battalion: "Arnhem Their Final Battle"

Mrs Johanna Pijpers and Gerrit were childhood sweethearts and have been married for many years (they tell me it can't be as long as people say since they're far younger than that!!!) Like many spouses of servicemen Johanna understands the hardships experienced by those left at home while their loved ones serve their country. While she remained at home bringing up their two children, she still found time to work and raise extra money to support the family, since no-one joins up for military service expecting large salaries.
Johanna continues to support Gerrit taking an active role in meeting with and supporting families of 11th Parachute Battalion members.

Dr Jan Larder-Davis is the youngest daughter of Corporal William (Bill) Larder , who, as a private in the 11th Parachute Battalion, was one of the brave men who parachuted into the Netherlands to fight against the German enemy. Like many men who fought, Bill didn't talk much about his experience of war, modestly saying "I was just doing my job!" When doing your job involves volunteering for extremely hazardous work, with a very high risk of physical injury, mental harm, being taken prisoner or killed, that does feel rather an understatement and emphasises we must ensure we learn from their bravery.
Jan always wanted to learn more about her dad and his background and in 2022 was awarded the title of Doctor of Philosophy by The University of Leicester for her sociological research inspired by him. He was so proud to be able to call his daughter by her title of Doctor.

Mr William Davis has been married to Jan for several years, the two having met when she was at college, aged just 18 and he was a young police officer, aged 22.
Their first meeting actually involved Bill Larder. Bill was working for Barton Buses in Melton Mowbray, from an office near to the bus depot canteen. On one of the very rare occasions that William took a tea break in the canteen, Jan visited her dad at work. Although they had no idea at the time, they eventually married and moved to Worcestershire where William served as a police officer, eventually being promoted to the rank of inspector. During his service William was awarded two medals. Although he had been awarded them many years earlier, the first time he wore them was at the interment of Bill Larder's ashes in September 2025 at Oosterbeek.
William isn't sure how a police officer would end up writing computer code but he now has the job of designing and managing www.rememberthexith.org.

We have joined together to create a permanent and living memorial to those who served in the 11th Parachute Battalion. We would be delighted if you were to join us in our quest. You can do this in several ways, one of which is to make a donation, which can be done on this website.

To achieve our goal of Remembering the 11^th Parachute Battalion, we have formed a Community Interest Company, Remember The XIth CIC registered number 17067647 which is regulated by The Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies.

We intend to recognise the XI^th Parachute Battalion through the erection of a formal monument and sharing the learning from their actions through this website.
We've also created an online store where we're selling 11^th Parachute Battalion related items as part of our fund raising to realise our dream.

The XI^th Parachute Battalion played a vital role in the Battle of Arnhem, suffering such heavy losses that it was disbanded after the battle. Yet, there is no formal monument recognising their accomplishments.
The 11^th, along with the 10^th and 156^th Parachute Battalions, made up the 4^th Parachute Brigade. There are already monuments to the latter two battalions in and around Melton Mowbray. The monument to the 11th will complete the trilogoy, providing opportunities for local people and supporters of the 11th Battalion to pay their respects; as well as presenting potential for 4 ^th Brigade events and commemorations.

Not only were all of the battalions making up the 4^th Parachute Brigade based in and around Melton Mowbray, from May 1944 the 11^th's home became Welby Lane Camp. Thus, we felt the the only place to erect a formal monument was in the battalion's home town of Melton Mowbray. We have identified a site that we feel would be appropriate and are working closely with the community of Melton Mowbray to realise our ambitions.

We don't currently have a formal timeline but have now done our initial preparatory work by setting up Remember The XI^th CIC and creating this website and starting selling items in our online shop store.rememberthexith.org. We already have several keen volunteers offering financial, moral and physical support.

There are numerous ways you can help. Financial contributions would be great and you can do this through this website but we are keen to hear from anyone with any connections whatsoever with any aspect of the XI^th Battalion or its former members.